Sophomore Taryn Johnson will be one of the first off the bench for the Stags (Peter Caty/The Mirror).
The women’s basketball team enters this season with a host of new players looking to step into starring roles. After losing Megan Caskin, Baendu Lowenthal, Lauren Groom and Shireyll Moore to graduation, the Stags will unveil some new looks this year. Players who had previously came off the bench are now thrust into starting roles along with freshmen contributors.
“We lost three starters and our first player off the bench, so that’s quite a bit,” said head coach Joe Frager. “But this year, we’re emphasizing playing as a team, especially offensively. We don’t have any one player to lean on. We need a real concerted team effort and the scoring will be spread out. In the long term that will be good, but in the short term, you’d like to have a go to player. But there are a couple of younger players that look good and I love to coach this group.”
The Stags’ two returning starters are sophomore guard Desiree Pina and senior forward Stephanie Geehan. Pina played off the ball for the majority of the season last year starting next to Caskin, but this year, she will share time with fellow sophomore guard Sarah Paulus, each running the offense.
“That’s one where both will see time,” said Frager. “It will depending on matchups. This year we might not have the same set lineup every game. Sarah gives us more strength and Des gives us more speed at the position.”
During the first game against Rhode Island, Paulus played most of the minutes at point with Pina taking over the ball handling duties when Paulus went to the bench. Pina is also the Stags leading returning scorer as she averaged 8.7 points per game last year.
With the graduation of Caskin, the Stags are also left with no guard on their roster who had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio last year. Frager noted that, with the exception of Pina, the Stags main ball-handlers this season are either freshmen or players who played only occasionally off the bench last year in Paulus, freshmen Katelyn Linney and junior Joelle Nawrocki.
“We’re definitely a work in progress,” said Frager. “We’re going to have moments where we break down.”
But Frager is pleased with the development of his team and how the players have executed so far.
“I’m pretty happy with where we are there,” said Frager. “We may not run quite as much since we’re going to start some freshmen and give them significant minutes. I just have to remember to be patient.”
Several freshmen could receive significant playing time this season, including Katelyn Linney, who starting the game in the Stags’ win over Rhode Island.
“Katelyn Linney, from St. John Vianney in New Jersey, she’s a scorer,” said Frager. “She’s got a real shooter’s mentality and she’ll pull the trigger. Laura Vetra, from Latvia, she’s got a nice feel for the game.”
Frager is in his third season as head coach of the women’s basketball team. After going 22-9 in his first season and then 18-13 last year, Frager will be counting on mainly his own recruits for the first time. Brittany MacFarlane, from Ontario, and Vetra, from Latvia, comprise the Stags international recruiting class.
“You have to be good at recruiting regionally, but there are so many mid-majors in this area, we try to find niches,” said Frager. “Once you get a few, it becomes easier to recruit. They understand each other.”
The Stags have graduated most of the players that comprised the core of the team for the past few season. But now it’s time for the development of a new era for women’s basketball.
“One thing we tell the girls is that we need to have a positive mentality,” said Frager. “My assistants have to remind me of that sometimes too. We’ll be well-prepared and put ourselves in a position to win. We need to use our non-conference schedule to prepare, but also win as many as possible. We want to peak in the second half of the season. It’s hard to put a number on it, but our chemistry is good.”
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